This topic contains 27 replies, has 13 voices, and was last updated by Hazelky 5 years, 11 months ago.
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How did you solve your problem with ants?
First year no dig here as well. Started no dig in the winter garden because of the slug problem. Veggies started growing on a half shade plot. Was then called to go travelling for work for the months of August and September. In between travels tried as much as I could to keep garden weed free. To no avail: slugs had their kings banquet this year. Was left with one small 3 inch sized courgette. Utterly disgusted.
Will have to try again next year with hopefully less travel in the most important months.
Much sympathy. First year on a new site of uncultivated and building land. Doing battle this year with slugs, moles, rats ate all my lovely sweetcorn, pigeons, whitefly, rabbits and caterpillars. My Kallettes have been spared and we are really enjoying them.
Hi everybody, I’m new here (zone 8, The Netherlands), first post yay!
I’ve had various results with slugs this year, on a new plot. I’ve always mulched with compost and straw or leaves. This year, lots of slug damage, but the carrots and salads did wonderfully, and the potatoes and physalis, that never suffered from slugs before, had serious damage.
Anyway, I’m going to do a trial next year, same size bed, same layer of compost and same plants (potatoes and peas, followed by winter carrots, leeks and radicchio) one bed mulched with only compost, one bed covered with the same compost and with autumn leaves. Anybody (Charles?) who would be willing to copy the experiment?
Hello,
I have a no- dig garden placed next lawn and woodland. There is almost imposibble to not-have slugs.
I realized that one plant (for me) works realy well – Nigella damascena.My garden is a mix of ornamentals and vegetables, so I started sowing Nigella in every corner of my garden. Once seeded, this plant reseed by them self every year. For my surprise, the young plants are winter green and protect overwintered salads and onions.
This spring I started Nigella seeds indoors with other seedlings. So they will have a good protection when planted n the beds.
Interesting comments, I hope the Nigella continues to be effective.
And Hanneke, I don’t want to try that as I suspect a sluggy outcome, plus I have no spare autumn leaves!
Let us know how your trial goes.How I tackle slugs!
I have been a nodigger for five years now. Some years slugs are worse than others. Sometimes they affect one crop but not all. Last September it was my leeks crawling in little dark slugs that did a lot of damage. I was literally picking off hundreds a day. Incredible! A few years back it was big slugs on broad bean plants in late June.Sometimes 8 per plant. And that same tear slugs were going sis feet up runner bean plants to eat them. It was a very wet june! The solution again picking off.
At this time of year as I get beds ready for runner beans french beans and sweet corn I plant sacrificial lettuce. This enables me to guage how bad the slug problem is as to whether I need dawn and dusk forays. It is also useful to put down damp pieces of timber and check the undersides each mornng.
I realis emy sacrificial lettuce tip is no help to the lady writing in pests about slugs devastating her out door lettuce!
How I tackle slugs!
I have been a nodigger for five years now. Some years slugs are worse than others. Sometimes they affect one crop but not all. Last September it was my leeks crawling in little dark slugs that did a lot of damage. I was literally picking off hundreds a day. Incredible! A few years back it was big slugs on broad bean plants in late June.Sometimes 8 per plant. And that same tear slugs were going sis feet up runner bean plants to eat them. It was a very wet june! The solution again picking off.
At this time of year as I get beds ready for runner beans french beans and sweet corn I plant sacrificial lettuce. This enables me to guage how bad the slug problem is as to whether I need dawn and dusk forays. It is also useful to put down damp pieces of timber and check the undersides each mornng.
I realise my sacrificial lettuce tip is no help to the lady writing in pests about slugs devastating her out door lettuce!
I am trying an experiment on slugs this season. I keep a bucket of very dry compost and The last thing I do before leaving the plot is to put a layer around my most vulnerable plants. I only have a small allotment, so it’s not too onerous.
So far it has worked on everything but the Chinese cabbage. Was a bit foolish to plant Chinese cabbage in April! I only have one left.
Have also a couple of planks for them to hide under and they go to my neighbours chickens in the mornings.
I bottle cloche my very diddy seedlings, which largely works, though some very enterprising slugs have managed to slither their way in.Brilliant organisation Hazelkey.
Your Chinese cabbage have disappeared because sowing them in spring is ‘out of season’. They are vulnerable to slugs anyway, but July sowings are more likely to grow away from slug nibbles.This year up in NW London, slugs have been nibbling a bit but are certainly not a plague. We had a very wet by our standards start to the year, but since planting out started later this year due to the cold soil, we have not had too much dampness at night when it mattered.
I lost two Brussels sprouts trying to plant out in late April, when six accompanying lettuce were all fine. There has been some nibbling of turnips and parsnip, but they are growing away fine. Spinach have struggled and early cabbage departed (now my tree cabbage is established, the spring sowings may disappear). Peas were nibbled but they are now 40-50cm high so should be fine. A couple of beetroot clumps succumbed and others have been nibbled, but a dose of liquid seaweed often helps them to come through. The eight clumps now look OK. I lost a couple of dill and coriander plants but replacing them with spare modules did the trick. All the lettuces are pwrfect.
When I look at my plants this year compared to last, I do not think the 2017 compost vintage was quite as good as the 2016 stuff. Still good, but for reasons unknown the 2016 vintage was superb. Paradoxically, this years compost seems excellent for onions, which are looking superb. I am wondering if crop-specific compost would have any mileage….
I have used beer traps in previous years which have worked well and this year I am trying vermicompost tea (100ml per plant).
But the test will come later in the week when cooler damper weather returns….
Thanks, Charles. If at first……..
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